[SoCal Con Comm] Super Dimension Convention ’23

Super Dimension Con 2023 took place on October 7, 2023 at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center in Torrance, CA. This convention dedicated to the Macross fandom has been going on for several years in this South Bay suburban town. The convention is small and very niche to those who either grew up on Macross or have got into Macross Frontier in its heyday. There were certainly two different types of Macross fans present! Admission was $25 to this one day event.

Guests for this convention included Lionel Lum, who had built a scale replica of the SDF-1. He also had other Macross themed models to show off in the main panel room. We also had a local idol performer, Eririn, performing covers of songs from Macross.

Programming was limited. In addition two the guests showing off their model kits and singing on stage, we did have a panel on who can transform a VF the fastest. There was also an hour of karaoke dedicated to songs from Macross. Brave souls went on stage to sing their renditions of the Macross theme, hits from Macross Delta, and this concluded with everyone singing along to “Do You Remember Love?”

There was also a maid café themed to Macross Frontier’s Nyan Nyan café, but it was very minimal. You could smell the curry as you walked into registration. You could also order boba milk tea. The maid café was mostly an indoor hangout zone.

There was also a cosplay contest, titled “Miss Macross.” There were only three entries – a Gamlin who was pretty hilarious on stage when he was pretending to be an idol, two Mylene’s singing live and playing the bass, and a Sheryl cosplayer singing “Don’t Be Late.” It’s amazing to see that we have a cosplay contest with Macross 7 cosplayers in 2023.

Cosplayers did show up to the convention dressed up as Hikaru, Minmay, Sheryl, Alto, and Ranka. I did not cosplay this time around (though one of my first cosplays was Minmay from Macross Flashback 2012). However, it was nice to see cosplayers from different generations of Macross. Maybe I’ll get around to representing Macross Plus as Sharon Apple.

The dealers hall had vendors selling a lot of collectable merchandise from Macross including artbooks, model kits, toys, posters, and more. Some of these vendors were also carrying posters and figures from classic 1980’s anime such as Dirty Pair, Bubblegum Crisis, Gundam, and more. It felt like looking through a time capsule of anime memorabilia. We also had an artist alley that sold keychains from various fandoms. I ended up getting a Minmay and Sharon Apple keychain to add to my camera.

Of note, there was a huge SoCal Ball Joint Doll presence at this convention. Not only Dollfie Dream collectors brought their vinyl babes to the con, they also dressed them up as Sheryl and Ranka. There was even one dealer that was selling cosplays for dollfies – I caved and got a shrine maiden outfit and a Princess Serenity cosplay for my dolls.

Super Dimension Con was a mixed bag for me. Social circles seemed to keep to themselves. I was uncomfortable when an attendee within earshot used a homophobic slur was used to describe Harmony Gold. We all don’t care for them, but one does not need to use a slur to describe their crimes. This incident made socializing with older fans awkward for me.

The only social circle that was inviting was the doll collector community. Programming was minimal; it would have been nice if there was a video room or even more panels throughout the day. It took me a while to figure out this convention’s programming and what it had to offer because there was no website. There was an Instagram profile, but there wasn’t a singular website so I can get more information of what this con is all about.

I have heard that this convention was much larger, but still small enough to maintain itself in the Torrance Cultural Arts Center. I do recall that Mari Ijima used to be a guest since she is a Los Angeles local. I’ve always wanted to check out this con since Macross was my entry into genre anime (by way of Robotech’s run on Toonami), but I couldn’t help but feel disappointed once the event ended at 6PM. I think this has potential, but there’s a lot of areas where this convention needs some attention.